The headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in Abuja was closed down last Monday by the Joint Executive Council of the Ministry’s Civilian staff protesting the alleged brutalisation of their members by soldiers.
The president of the Council ,Didam Joel, highlighted about the treatment of civilian staff by military authorities who had been in detention for over one month and the brutalisation of an assistant director at Command Secondary School, Ojo Lagos.
Didam, lamented on the alarming incidents reportedly occurred without recourse to civil service rules
The protest saw the civilian staff assembling outside the Defence Headquarters, demanding justice and an end to the harsh treatment.
Joel declared, “This action is necessary to safeguard our members from indiscriminate abuse and ensure that military and civilian personnel are treated with mutual respect.”
Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) in the army revealed to Channels TV disturbing details.
One notable case involved Ambrose Akhigbe, allegedly brutalized by a private soldier under the command of Lieutenant Akubor, who is now hospitalized due to the severity of his injuries.
Further allegations surfaced about a laboratory scientist in the Naval Reference Hospital at Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos, who was reportedly killed two months ago under brutal circumstances.
“We were at the heat of it, the person controlling the current crop of soldiers in all command schools in Lagos including some civilian PSOs, are backing these shameful acts of killing MOD staff at duty posts.
“We therefore demand the complete overhaul of the command schools by returning the schools to their original structure of standard school system, to be headed by professional education officers in the Ministry of Defence and they can only provide security if they wish.
“The management of MOD should be aware that we are not backing down on this as we don’t know who is next,” the ASCSN official said.
